Munich's annual extravaganza of beer halls, buxom girls in dirndls, pretzels and the best of the 'wurst' (pun intended!) actually gets underway in September. Its origins in Germany involve a wedding and a harvest festival, but now, Munich's Oktoberfest is one of the most famous multi-day parties in the world.

If you're missing Bavaria's biggest party this year, you're not out of luck yet: Germans have taken the festival's spirit of beer hall fellowship ('gemutlichkeit') and love of great German food with them where they've settled in other lands.